


Down This Road

by stillskies



Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-04
Updated: 2012-03-04
Packaged: 2017-11-01 02:47:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/351094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stillskies/pseuds/stillskies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, you have to choose between two different roads. And when you do, there's no turning back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Down This Road

**Author's Note:**

> Written for round 5 of [Blind Go](http://blind-go.livejournal.com/).

He opens his eyes and finds himself standing on a dirt road. The road splits into two a few meters in front of him, and he knows that he has to choose which road to go down.

There are no defining characteristics, nothing to tell him what lies down which road, what hardships he will face.

He stands at the crossroads, and the only thing he knows is that he has to choose.

***

 

He sees him by chance at the bar. He is surrounded by glamorous women, rich women, older women, but doesn’t seem the least bit interested. It takes two shots of cheap vodka for him to gather the courage to walk across the crowded bar and offer to buy him a drink. That’s all it is, he tells himself; he’s offering to buy a strong player a drink, no strings attached, no ulterior motives.

Ko Yongha’s eyes rake over his body as soon as he places his hand on his shoulder. He tells himself that he has to lean in so that he can be heard over the noise, and his body hums at the contact. His lips brush Ko’s ear, and he has the urge to flick it with his tongue.

“Let me buy you a drink.”

He stumbles over the words, unfamiliar syllables catching on his tongue, making the sentence seem more fragmented than he intends. Ko raises an eyebrow, but inclines his head.

“I’ll find us a corner,” Ko breathes against his ear, catching his earlobe between his teeth. The sharp pain sends a jolt through his body, but before he can say anything, Ko is gone, just another body among a mass of people.

It occurs to him as he is asked for his order that he didn’t ask what Ko wanted.

***

 

Adrenaline is pumping through his veins as Ko pushes him against the wall and bites his neck. He hisses and rakes his fingers down Ko’s back, leaving red welts that stand out against the pale skin. Ko is working on unbuttoning their pants while Kiyoharu stares at the crimson lines marring Ko’s back and wonders about red threads and destiny and whether or not he really wants this or if it’s just the alcohol.

He crushes his mouth to Ko’s, nipping at his mouth until he draws blood. Ko makes a strangled noise into his mouth and starts to grind himself against Kiyoharu, and Kiyoharu takes the opportunity to flip them, slamming Ko against the wall. Ko looks at him with heavy-lidded eyes, and Kiyoharu makes a low sound in his throat before kissing down Ko’s chest.

Ko’s skin is hot against his mouth, and he licks and nips his way down lower, stopping to dip his tongue in Ko’s navel, which draws a surprised moan from Ko. Kiyoharu smirks against Ko’s pelvic bone, slowly pulling Ko’s expensive trousers down his hips. He kisses the newly unveiled skin as he goes, hesitating once he sees the light trail of hair and realizes that Ko isn’t wearing anything under them.

“What’s wrong, chibi?” Ko rasps, threading his fingers through Kiyoharu’s hair. He is smiling down at him, mocking him, and Kiyoharu wonders when he lost the upper hand and Ko regained it. “Scared?”

Kiyoharu glares up at him. “You wish,” he retorts, licking his lips and tugs Ko’s pants down quickly, leaving him naked with his pants pooled around his ankles. Kiyoharu sits back on his heels and looks over Ko’s body while Ko steps out of his pants.

“Well?” Ko asks, looking at him expectantly.

Kiyoharu says nothing, only continues to stare.

Ko’s hands are on his thighs, slowly inching upwards. Ko’s mouth parts on a sigh, eyes half closed. Kiyoharu cannot take his eyes away.

“If you won’t,” Ko breathes, one hand wrapped loosely around himself, “I can find someone who will.”

Kiyoharu moves forward with a growl, and the last thing he sees before taking Ko into his mouth is Ko’s smug smile.

***

 

He wakes up alone with a killer hangover and the remnants of a dream he cannot remember clinging to him like a cobweb. Slowly, he gets out of bed and heads toward the bathroom, taking note of his clothes scattered throughout the room. 

The back of his head is sore, and he winces when the spigot sprays against it. He finishes quickly, turning off the water and wrapping a towel around his waist.

He is dressed and packed when he notices the slip of paper on the nightstand.

_It was fun, chibi. We should do it again soon._

There is a number and a signature scrawled at the bottom, and he thinks he’s going to throw up if he really did what he’s beginning to think he did.

***

 

“What do you mean you’ve sworn off drinking?” Shindou asks, eyes wide and voice incredulous.

“Not everyone enjoys drinking, Shindou,” Touya says disdainfully.

“Yashiro does,” Shindou counters, and Kiyoharu would say something if it wasn’t true.

“Just lay off,” he says instead. “I’m just not interested in going out drinking anymore.”

He doesn’t say why, because Shindou doesn’t need to know.

***

 

“You never called,” a voice purrs in his ear, and he jumps. He knows that voice, even if he can’t quite remember it.

“Didn’t see the need to,” he replies, injecting a calm he doesn’t feel into his voice so that it doesn’t waver because he will **not** give this bastard the satisfaction.

Ko is next to him now, an amused expression on his face. “Is that so?” he asks, taking Kiyoharu’s drink and sipping at it. “This is disgusting,” he adds, frowning.

“Yes,” Kiyoharu says, rolling his eyes. “And don’t take other people’s drinks, bastard.”

“That,” Ko says disdainfully, “is not a drink.”

“The hell it’s not. Coke is the best the world has to offer.”

“Clearly, you’ve been wasting your life in the impoverished portions of the world,” Ko says, smirking.

“Fuck you,” Kiyoharu growls, and realizes his mistake as Ko looks at him with eyes that promise complete satisfaction and utter domination.

“Gladly,” Ko breathes, leaning forward and placing his hand on Kiyoharu’s thigh.

Kiyoharu’s body responds even as he pleads with it not to. “I didn’t mean it like that, pervert,” he hisses, and the words waver.

“I’m sure you didn’t,” Ko replies agreeably, hand inching higher.

Ko’s hand is cupping him now, and Kiyoharu’s eyelids flutter. Ko squeezes, and Kiyoharu catches his lip between his teeth to stave off the sound.

“Of course,” Ko says, pulling his hand away, “if you’re not inclined, then far be it from me to force you.”

Ko stands and walks away, not once looking back.

Kiyoharu follows.

***

 

It’s a game that they are playing, though the rules change with each encounter.

 _It’s casual_ becomes _when do I see you next?_

 _Never at my place_ becomes _you can stay at my place_.

 _Call me when you’re in town_ becomes _call me to discuss your game_.

He wonders when _bastard_ or _Ko_ will become _Yongha_. And more than that, he wonders when _chibi_ and _Yashiro_ will become _Kiyoharu_.

***

 

He has just gotten into the taxi when his phone chimes. The display is glowing, telling him that he has received an e-mail from Shindou.

_That old guy from the Kansai Institute ran in to Touya and said to tell you your dad wants you to call him._

Kiyoharu sighs and resolves to call his father once he gets to Ko’s.

***

 

“Yashiro residence.”

“Hello, Father.”

“Kiyoharu. Where are you?”

“Seoul.”

“Again? You seem to be out of the country more often than you are in it. Is that also part of your profession?”

“There are international tournaments that I participate in.”

“But that is not why you are in Seoul.”

“I’m visiting a… friend.”

“Would that be the one that was here two weeks ago?”

“Yes.”

“He must be a very good _friend_ to waste your earnings on plane tickets.”

“He is.”

“Then it would be common courtesy to introduce him.”

***

 

Ko is straightening the lapels of his suit and trying not to sigh. “If you keep fidgeting, your coat will wrinkle.”

“Bite me.”

“After dinner,” Ko replies. “Otherwise, we won’t make it, and your ever so _charming_ father will dislike me.”

“He’ll dislike you anyway,” Kiyoharu mumbles. “You don’t have to go, you know. I can go on my own.”

“I was invited. It would be rude not to attend.”

Kiyoharu hangs his head and sighs in defeat.

***

 

“Kiyoharu tells me you play Go, as well,” Yashiro Kiyokazu says, and Kiyoharu sits rigidly in his chair, recognizing the scorn in his voice.

“Yes,” Ko says pleasantly, sipping his mineral water. “I turned pro a few years ago.”

Kiyokazu doesn’t say anything, just sips his wine, and frowns.

“He’s very well respected,” Kiyoharu says, gritting his teeth at the unvoiced insult.

“There isn’t much respect for those who eschew a true profession in order to pursue a game,” Kiyokazu replies contemptuously.

Ko clears his throat and smiles. Kiyoharu knows this smile, just like he knows the rest of Ko’s smiles, and he tenses. He knew this wasn’t a good idea, knew that his father wasn’t going to take to Ko, that Ko wasn’t going to take to his father. To be honest, Kiyokazu didn’t take too well to his own son, despite all of Kiyoharu’s attempts.

“I do believe that professionals of the Go world still command respect,” Ko says icily. 

“Perhaps,” Kiyokazu concedes. “However, it’s a rather unstable profession. Income is based on game play.”

“Your son is rather gifted.”

“My son is wasting his life away playing a game that he learned on a whim for a living,” Kiyokazu says sharply. “Furthermore, rather than saving the meager earnings that he makes, he wastes them by flying to Korea every other month to see you.”

“It seems to me that you only pay any attention to your son when he is doing something that you do not approve of, rather than noticing the things he has been doing to gain your attention.” 

Kiyoharu wants to say something in his own defense, wants to say something in his father’s defense, but Ko is right, in a way, and he is wrong. 

“Regardless,” Kiyokazu is saying, “I would prefer if you cut off all contact with my son outside of tournaments.”

“I do believe he has the right to make his own decisions.” Ko’s voice is hard, his body humming with the effort to stay where he is.

“My son is irresponsible and unaware of what he wants,” Kiyokazu says, waving Ko’s comment away. “He is my son, therefore it is my responsibility to do what is right for him. You are not right for him.” 

Ko is up before Kiyoharu could stop him, and the punch is thrown before he can get between them. He hears the sickening _crack_ as Ko’s fist connects with Kiyokazu’s face.

“What the hell?” he shouts, moving around the table, grabbing a napkin and trying to hand it to his father, who bats his hands away.

“So long as you associate with this man, you are not welcome in my house,” Kiyokazu spits. Kiyoharu sees the blood running in twin trails from Kiyokazu’s nose.

He nods but doesn’t move, can’t move, isn’t even sure if he wants to move. Moving means he’s made a choice, and he isn’t sure whether or not he’s ready to make this choice.

Ko grabs his elbow. “Let’s go, Kiyoharu,” he says clearly, and Kiyoharu sees his father flinch. 

He lets Ko lead him out.

***

 

They are sitting on Kiyoharu’s futon in his apartment. Ko is brushing his hair, and Kiyoharu is staring at the floor.

“Your father is an idiot. Stop worrying.”

“Easy for you to say, Ko. Your parents don’t care what you do.”

Ko sighs wraps his arms around Kiyoharu’s waist. “My parents recognize my achievements and turn a blind eye so long as I do not cause a scandal.”

“Whatever. I’m fine, anyway. Doesn’t matter,” Kiyoharu says quietly, leaning back against Ko. “I have something else to worry about now.”

“Really?” Ko says, mouth pressed against Kiyoharu’s neck. “And what is that?”

Kiyoharu turns around and grins. He wonders if the smile reaches his eyes. He doubts it. “You called me ‘Kiyoharu’ back there.”

“And you’ve called me ‘Yongha’ when you thought I was asleep, chibi,” he counters.

“I have not!”

“Lies, chibi.”

“Bite me.”

“Gladly.”

***

 

He opens his eyes and sees the crossroads before him. He knows that he cannot take back his choice, that the path that he chooses is the one that he will follow.

But he can hope that the paths will meet somewhere along the way.

With that thought in mind, he turns to the left and starts down the path, only pausing to look back once.


End file.
